Baldina
The Baldina and Super Baldina were a series of cameras manufactured in Germany by Balda Werke from the mid 1930s to the mid 1950s. These cameras can be very confusing to the collector, as the basic original camera body was enhanced and marketed under more than a dozen different names by two different manufacturers (both of which used the name Balda for a period of time). To further complicate matters, the name Baldina (and Super Baldina) was used on two very different series of camera bodies. The cheaper variants tended to have 3 element front cell focusing lenses in Prontor shutters, while the more expensive varaints had 4,5,or 6 element unit focusing lenes in Compur shutters. In addition to marketing cameras under their own brand names, Balda sold their cameras to the German distributor Porst, who re-branded them as the Hapo 35, and to the American firm of Peerless, who re-branded them as the Rival 35; there may have been others as well. Balda did not make their own lenses - the Balda Baldinars, Baltars and others were rebranded lenses from third party optical houses, usually as a lower cost option. Pre-war Baldas were well made, and most continue to function well. Some of their engineering was, admittedly, less than elegent. The pre-war Baldina's film counter was inconvenient to use, and the rangefinder on the Super Baldina was rather clumsy looking at best. The owner's manuals of the post-war Rigona, Baldinette, and Super Baldinette warn "Do not press the body shutter release unless the shutter is cocked. If you do so, the mechanism will be disturbed" (these statements themselves are a bit disturbing!) Also, the Super Baldinette's front cover will not close when either the synch lever is in the "M" position or the lens is not at the infinity position. = Prewar by Balda Dresden = 'Baldina' (folder) The Baldina was a 35mm folding viewfinder camera made by Balda in Dresden, Germany, before World War II. Introduced in 1935, the Baldina bore a strong resemblance to both the Welta Welti of the same year and the original Kodak Retina (type 117) introduced a year earlier. There were significant variations in the shutter release mechanism. The camera was originally made with no body release; subsequent models had a body release either on the top plate or on the lens bed door itself. Production of the Baldina appears to have continued until at least 1941 - one camera, with a Schneider lens made in November 1938, has a number of unplated brass parts (advance knob and shutter release), typical of wartime production, while another, with all plated parts, has a Schneider lens made in mid to late 1941. Production resumed after the war in both East and West Germany. The choice of lens/shutter on the Baldina included: * Balda Baltar 5cm f/2.9 with Compur 300 * E. Ludwig Meritar 5cm f/2.9 * Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 4.5cm f/2 with Compur-Rapid 500, a rare version sometimes called "Night Baldina" (Nacht Baldina) * Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 5cm f/3.5 with Compur-Rapid 500 * Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 5cm f/2.8 with Compur 300 * Schneider Xenar 5cm f/2.8 with Compur 300 * Schneider Xenon 5cm f/2 with Compur-Rapid 500 The Baldina featured a parallax compensating viewfinder, a knob film advance, a frame counter, and, on the better lenses, unit focusing. There was no double exposure prevention. }} }} 'Jubilette' (folder) Beginning in 1938, a simplified version of the Baldina was introduced as the Jubilette, in honor of Balda's 30th anniversary. Most, if not all, were equipped with lower cost lenses: * Schneider Radionar 5cm f/2.9 * Friedrich Corygon-Anastigmat 50mm f/2.9 * Meyer Görlitz Trioplan 50mm f/2.9 * Balda Baltar 5cm f/2.9 These were all front cell focusing lenses. The Jubilette's viewfinder lacked the parallax adjustment of the Baldina. }} 'Super Baldina' (folder) The 1938 Super Baldina is a version with a coupled rangefinder. The rangefinder was of the split-image type, and separated from the viewfinder. The viewfinder had an automatic parallax correction, coupled with the focusing lever, a quite advanced feature for the time. The Super Baldina existed with a black finish (earlier version) or a chrome finish (later version). The choice of lenses on the Super Baldina included: * Meyer Gorlitz Trioplan 5cm f/2.9 * Schneider Radionar 5cm f/2.9 * Schneider Radionar 5cm f/2.8 (rare) * Schneider Xenar 5cm f/2.9 * Schneider Xenar 5cm f/2.8 * Schneider Xenon 4.5cm f/2 * Schneider Xenon 5cm f/2 * Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 5cm f/2.8 The camera was available with a Compur shutter to 1/300 or optionally with a Compur-Rapid shutter to 1/500. The Super Baldina with Trioplan lens in a Compur shutter sold in New York in 1938 for $58.50 US ($850 US in 2007). }} }} = Postwar by Balda/Belca = After the war, cameras were again produced in the Balda plant in Dresden (then East Germany) until 1951, when the name of the factory was changed to Belca as a result of legal action by Max Baldeweg. 'Baldina / Beltica / Multina' (folder) The pre-war Baldina was produced until 1951 when the camera was renamed the Belca Beltica (first model) when the factory name was changed to Belca. Note that Belca subsequently used the Beltica name for two versions of an entirely different 35mm folding camera. The Multina appears to be an East German Baldina with a Carl Zeiss Jena coated Tessar and a pre-war Compur-Rapdid shutter. Determining the origin of any particular post-war Baldina may be difficult, but it is likely that the East German Baldinas were fitted with the following East German lenses used on the renamed Beltica: * E. Ludwig Meritar 50mm f/2.9 * Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 Another possible lens on a post-war East German Baldini would be the Myer Trioplan. Note that post-war lenses were usually coated and designated in millimeters; pre-war lenses were usually uncoated and designated in centimeters. = Postwar by Balda Bünde = After the war, Baldas were also manufactured at Max Baldeweg's new Balda Kamera-Werk in Bünde, West Germany. The quality of cameras produced in Baldewig's new factory does not appear to be on the same level as the pre-war products. Noted British author and camera expert Ivor Matanle felt that "If you happen to locate a Baldinette or Super Baldinette that has been little used, it is pleasant to own, but I would not recommend Balda cameras of the fifties as sound cameras for long term use... The post-war ''rigid Baldina and related series of rigid cameras of the fifties are not paticularly well built, and often give trouble when some thirty years old."Collecting And Using Classic Cameras, Ivor Matanle, Thames and Hudson, Inc, 1986 ISBN 0-500-27656-0 'Baldina' (folder) The first Balda Bünde camera was essentially the pre-war Baldina with a Balda Baldanar 5cm f/3.5 lens in a Prontor 300 shutter (and possibly others as well.) Thus, these later versions of the original Baldina had the distinction of being produced by two different companies in two different countries. In 1950, the western Baldina received a satin chrome top plate covering the width of the camera. 'Baldalette' (folder) In 1950, the Baldalette, basically a Jubilette with a body mounted shutter release, was introduced. The lenses included: *Schneider Radionar 50mm f/2.9 }} 'Baldini' / Central 35 / Hansa 35 / Rival 35 / Studiophot / Pinette (folder) Possibly unbranded for resale by another distributor. }} The Baldini was essentially the pre-war Jubilette with a new name. In 1950, it received a satin chrome top plate that covered the right half of the camera and contained the viewfinder, frame counter, and an accessory shoe. It was also sold as the Central 35, Hansa 35, Rival 35 and Studiophot. Lenses included: * Schneider Radionar 50mm f/3.5 * Schneider Radionar 50mm f/2.9 (Studiophot) * Balda Baltar 50mm f/3.5 * Balda Enna-Baldanar 50mm f/3.5 (possibly the same lens as above w/ different label) * Balda Werk Bunde Jos Zacharias Regensberg 50mm/2.9 Xenostar Anastigmat This last lens appears to be a re-badged Zeiss Jena lens used in yet another of Balda's OEM re-branding efforts. Josef Zacharias opened a photographic specialty and optical supplies store in Regensberg, Germany in 1908. They are still in business under the name Fotohaus Zacharias 'Baldinette' (folder) A subsequent model (1951) with a redesigned chrome top plate cover was called the Baldinette. Lenses included: * Balda Baldanar 50mm f/3.5 * Balda Baldanar 50mm f/2.9 * Balda Baltar 50mm f/2.9 * Schneider Radionar 50mm f/3.5 * Schneider Radionar 50mm f/2.9 The above five lenses are listed from least to most expensiveA Lens Collector's Vade Mecum, Alex Wright, David Matthews Associates, 1999 ISBN 0-9535815-0-0. * Isco Westar 50mm f/3.5 }} 'Rival 35' (folder) The Rival 35 was an interesting version - it looks like a cross between a Baldalette and a Baldinette. It has a rough plated top cover that extends over the right side of the camera, with the left lacking a cover. The lens is a Enna Werk München Ennagon 5cm f/3.5 (3 element, front cell focusing) in a Prontor-S shutter (1-300 plus B and synch). The camera lacks any identification as a Balda; the use of an Ennar lens hints as to the manufacturer of the Balda banded lenses. }} 'Rigona' (folder) The original Balda Rigona was a 127 roll film version of the Baldina or Baldax cameras. After the war, Balda-Werk Bűnde produced the 35mm Rigona, a lower cost version of the last model Baldinette, ala the original Baldina and Jubilette. The lenses and shutters were lower cost items as compared to the Baldinette. The factory referred to the camera as the Baldinette Rigona, but the camera itself was labelled just Rigona. The major identifying feature of a Rigona was its low cost Rigonar lens; in the first half of the 1950s, the Rigona sold for 25% less than the cheapest Baldinette (which had a Baldanar lens of the same aperture). }} 'Mess Baldinette' (folder) The Mess Baldinette was a Baldinette with an uncoupled rangefinder and front cell focusing lens. Mess stood for measuring; the uncoupled rangefinder was used due to the cumbersome linkages that are necessary to connect the rangefinder to a front lens element ala the Kodak 35 RF and Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta. * Balda Werk Bünde Baltar 50 mm f/2.9 'Mess Rigona' / Hapo 35 / Rival 35 (folder) The Mess Rigona was a Mess Baldinette with round, rather than square right rangefinder window and the less expensive Rigonar lens. It was sold in the United States by Peerless camera as the Rival 35 and in Europe by Porst as the Hapo 35. Lenses included: * Balda Rigonar 50mm f/2.9 (Mess Rigona) * Enna Haponar 50 mm f/2.9 (Hapo 35) This suggests that this particular Balda lens was a re-branded Enna, probably the Ennagon triplet 'Super Baldinette' (folder) The Super Baldinette was a Baldinette/Mess Baldinette with a coupled rangefinder and unit focusing lenses. It introduced in 1951, it was the ultimate development on the line of cameras started by the Baldina in 1935. As Balda's premier camera, it was equipped with higher quality lenses: 4 element lens: * Enna Ennit 50mm f/2.8 6 element lenses: * Schneider Xenon 50mm f/2 * Rodenstock Heligon 50mm f/2 }} 'Baldina / Super Baldina' (rigid) Later, the names Baldina and Super Baldina were used again by the Western Balda company for a completely new series of rigid body 35mm viewfinder and rangefinder cameras with the lens and shutter mounted on a telescopic tube. Despite the lack of a rangefinder, the Baldina, with its brightline finder, utilizes the same top cover as the super Baldina. These Baldinas were available with either Prontor SVS or Synchro-Comour shutters and a wide variety of lenses. 3 element lenses: * Balda Baldanar 50mm f/3.5 * Balda Baldanar 50mm f/2.8 * Schneider Radionar 50mm f/2.8 * Rodenstock Trinar 50mm f/2.8 4 element lenses: * Schneider Xenar 50mm f/2.8 * Enna Ennit 50mm f/2.8 6 element lenses: * Schneider Xenon 50mm f/2 * Rodenstock Heligon 50mm f/2 Links In English: * A list of all Balda cameras at The UK camera website In French: * Baldina, Baldina B and Baldina Special at Sylvain Halgand's www.collection-appareils.fr In German: * Lists of Balda Dresden, Balda Bünde, and Belca cameras at Reinhard Krahé's website Manuals: * rigid Baldina/Super Baldina manual, Baldinette manual, Super Baldinette manual, Rigona manual at Mike Butkus' site References Category: German 35mm viewfinder folding Category: German 35mm rangefinder folding Category: German 35mm viewfinder Category: German 35mm rangefinder Category: Balda Category: B